Category: Ride of the Month

Alex Pappas’s 2006 GT

Alex’s GT started out stock with 8,000 miles on the odometer. Two years later, it has 34,000 miles on it, and Alex has installed an amazing array of parts. He’s done all the work except mounting his Nittos on the MRR GT-1 wheels. The GT sits on Koni Yellow adjustable shocks and struts, GT500 strut mounts, and Eibach lowering springs. A BMR adjustable Mustang panhard bar, billet lower control arms, and LCA relocation brackets contribute to the GT’s mean stance. Alex also installed Steeda adjustable upper control arms and front and rear sway bars.

Kuro Tawil’s 2007 V6 Mustang!

Kuro’s 2007 Vista Blue Mustang is his first car, and he mowed lawns for three summers to save up enough money to pay for the car. His parents covered the other half of the cost, but only on the condition that Kuro not modify it. Since that wouldn’t do, he started doing modifications “under the radar”. Kuro’s crowning achievement was installing a whole motor when his parents weren’t looking! He convinced his parents he was switching out the clutch and swapped a 5.4 V8 into the Mustang. He’s also added a BBK aluminum CAI, a GT500 rear end, Saleen underdrive pulleys, and Prothane motor mounts.

The mod list doesn’t stop there, though. He’s added FR500c shocks and struts, an Eibach Pro lowering kit, Steeda upper strut mounts, and Eibach front/rear adjustable swaybars, all without his parents noticing. We’re not sure how he pulled it off, but he’s also personalized the exterior of the car with GT front, rear, and side skirts, a black billet grille, and Agent 47 mirrors. Kuro has also tinted the windows, deleted the antenna, added HID lights, and a Roush hood scoop. The inside boasts an impressive mod list, too, with Corbeau A4 seats, an NRG leather-wrapped steering wheel, a rear seat delete, and a variety of vent and cluster mods.

Think your pony has what it takes to be the December Ride of the Month? Submit your entry before Thursday, November 25th. Entries are only good for a month, so make sure you submit yours again if you didn’t win for October.

Jeff Burd’s 2008 Roush 428R Mustang!!!

Jeff’s Roush Mustang is one of only 200 made, and Jack Roush himself signed it. The 428R has all the features you expect from a Roush vehicle, and some sweet extras. It features 18X10 Roush wheels and some awesome upgrades from a standard GT. The Roush makes 435 HP and it has an intercooled ROUSHcharger.

When you’re making that much power, you need a suspension that can handle it. The 428R has lowering springs, upgraded swaybars, and upgraded springs and shocks. It’s equipped with Cooper Zeon 2XS tires to help Jeff grip the road when he hits turns, and is rated to pull over 1G of force.

This red Mustang has some serious sex appeal–its Roush custom front fascia, chin spoiler, and hood scoop all give it a tough, powerful look. Being Roush, they didn’t stop with the obvious mods, but added hood pins, a black high-flow grille, and the iconic Roush emblems. With an exterior that looks this good, the inside has to match, so Jeff’s Mustang has leather seats, an upgraded dash, racing pedals, and a retro knob on the short throw shifter. Jeff gave the 428R his own touch by adding a rear window louver and a honeycomb taillight panel.

Think your pony has what it takes to be the November Ride of the Month? Submit your entry before Sunday, October 25th. Entries are only good for a month, so make sure you submit yours again if you didn’t win for October.

Michael’s azure blue Mach 1 features 18X9 and 18X10 Bullitt wheels paired with a set of Michelin tires. When he picked the Mustang (which he calls his “play toy”) up it had about 37,000 miles on it and was far from the modded beast it is today. The Mach 1 sports a P-1SC ProCharger that’s intercooled at approximately 10lbs, 42lb injectors, a Wallbro 260 fuel pump, and a Kenne Bell BAP. Kooks long tube headers and catted x-pipe, and an SLP Loudmouth Mustang catback system make sure you can hear Michael coming. A PHP intake spacer, an SCT handheld tuner (with a custom tune), and 4.10 gears round out the performance mods.

The Mach’s interior, exterior, and suspension have all been customized, too. Michael’s added Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates, H&R springs, and Bilstein shocks. He’s also performed an 03/04 Cobra IRS conversion and added subframe connectors. Not content with a stock-appearance sleeper, the exterior has a hood stripe, a 1″ shaker raise, a shorty antenna, and Luminics headlights and fog lights and the windows are tinted. On the interior, the rear seat has been deleted, Michael’s added an LED shift light, Phantom II boost and vacuum gauges, and an MGW short shifter. Billet interior knobs, a Mach 1 rubber trunk mat and floor mats, and an FR500 steering wheel round out the build.

Think your pony has what it takes to be the October Ride of the Month? Submit your entry before Saturday, September 25th. Entries are only good for a month, so make sure you submit yours again if you didn’t win for September.

Ron’s Mustang Bullitt has an impressive list of modifications. An Edelbrock E-Force Street-Legal Supercharger has bumped his dyno numbers up to 427RWHP and 396 RWTQ. With a Dynotech 3.5″ aluminum driveshaft, a BMR driveshaft loop and 4.10 Ford Racing gears, Ron’s making the most of all that horsepower. In order to help him harness all that power, the Bullitt now features a Steeda adjustable panhard rod, a CHE K-frame brace with Q-Limiters, BMR billet lower control arms, and Koni Yellow shocks and struts.

Grand Prize Winner: Al’s orange 2004 Mustang GT.

Wheel Style & Size: Cragar S/S 18X9

Tire Brand & Size: Riken 275/35/18

Al’s 2004 GT sports a Kenne Bell 2.1 Supercharger, a Stack Racing 75 mm throttle body, and a BBK cold air intake. Though he hasn’t made any upgrades to the suspension yet, he has worked on the interior and the exterior. The orange GT sports a Roush body kit with a wing, and a Roush exhaust with enhanced sound. In the cabin, Al has added Pillar Equus boost, oil pressure, and temperature gauges, plus a short throw shifter.

Marty’s Comments: “I started with what seemed to be a rather plain looking Mustang GT that I purchased from a Corvette dealer in Edmonton. The car only had 2,300km on it and to this day it still has under 5,000km. The transformation began approximately 3 years ago with custom-painted Eleanor racing strips, as vinyl did not cut it for me. The rear, side, and rear window louvers followed next and added a cool look. The 350hp stock engine with a cold air intake grew to be insufficient for me and had no choice but to go play with the big boys. I have yet to have the car dyno’d, but have been advised that I have at least 500hp at the flywheel and approximately 450 rear wheel. I have yet to install the smaller pulley for my supercharger, that should take the hp up to 550. The finishing touch to the extreme power I now have was the deep-dish Bullitt rims & tires that get so much attention at Mustang rallies. The only thing I was lacking in the end was brakes. Willwood 6 piston calipers and rotors were installed by Cobra Motor Sports to help me stop a little more efficiently. I hope you like my ride, as it sincerely turns heads every time I am out driving in sunny Alberta, Canada.

The submissions have been reviewed, votes have been cast, and the panel of dedicated Ride of the Month judges has spoken. We’re pleased to bring you May’s Generational Ride of the Month winners. All winners will receive a $25 AmericanMuscle.com gift card and an awesome AM t-shirt, plus bragging rights for an entire month.

2005+ Winner

Click to enlarge image

Shane Peltz’s silver V6 Mustang is sleek and stylish. As Shane says, “My father bought me my 2006 Mustang V6 thinking we could make a real head turner. With my father’s love for cars and my sense of style we knew we could do it. We started this monster project by putting on a chin spoiler. From there, we decided to dress up the hood by putting on a carbon hood scoop and two black hood pins. From the hood to the engine compartment, we have Red Line chrome hood struts. To brace the the car around turns, we put a Steeda strut tower brace on… We designed our own custom Kat-skin interior. Also we installed triple pod racing gauges and rear window side louvers. Rear racing diffuser and custom striping round out our project. Thank you for all your help AmericanMuscle.”

Comments:“I have no trophies and consider this Mustang a work in progress. I have just added the Eibach pro-line springs, struts, and shocks and it rides, drives, looks, and handles 100% better, best mod I could have done. I’m working on many more things as the money comes. I call this Mustang the Dark Horse because it is an under dog being a V6 and my hopes are to change that soon with a super charger and some power upgrades.”

When we discussed starting a Ride of the Month program, none of us ever dreamed we would be facing so much anger, so much tension, and so much outright contempt–from each other! Our dedicated panel of ROTM judges (who also happen to be dedicated employees) turned downright vicious when it came time to vote on our first Ride of the Month. Everybody had a favorite, and they campaigned for that favorite mercilessly. In order to stop the threats, bribery, and intimidation, we’re changing the contest, just a little.

Each month, there will be a grand-prize winner of the Ride of the Month contest, plus a winner from every other generation of Mustangs. This way, we can spread the ROTM love around a little(and keep our office standing). The grand-prize winner each month will have a blog post featuring their ride by itself, plus a $50 AmericanMuscle.com gift card and AM t-shirt. The generational winners will each win a $25 AmericanMuscle.com gift card and AM t-shirt, and will all be featured together in their own blog entry .

Here are this month’s awesome generational Ride of the Month winners!

2005+ Winner

Click the image to enlarge

Steve Burroughs’ 2007 Torch Red GT is quite a looker. As Steve says,”With a mix of mods that compliment each other perfectly, this Mustang gets looks wherever it goes. I think my favorite mod is the suspension and tire set-up. I’m constantly asked what the setup is. Everyone loves the stance.”